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Archive for January, 2016

Special Offer – Free Is Always Special!

Posted by terrepruitt on January 29, 2016

FREE YOGA THE WEEKEND OF FEB. 27 and 28, 2016

Mind Body Zone in Fremont is having a weekend of FREE yoga classes. The schedule is as follows (note only the classes listed below are free):

Saturday, February 27, 2016

3:30-4:30 Vinyasa Yoga

4:45-5:45 Yin Yoga

Sunday, February 28, 2016

10:30-11:30 Hatha Yoga

11:40-12:40 Gentle Yoga

2:15-3:15 Intro to Yoga

3:25-4:25 Restorative

Since it is free, it might fill up fast, so be sure to reserve your spot at the online sign-up website for the studio. You can use the date field or calendar tool to get to the correct dates, then sign up for whatever classes you want to attend. (Note: ONLY the classes that are indicated as “FREE” are free. There are other classes that are being taught that weekend that are not free, so if you are wanting to take the FREE classes, please be sure to sign up accordingly.) 🙂

Bring your own yoga mat or rent one from the studio. Bring water or purchase a bottle from the studio. If you are planning on taking more than one class you might want to bring a snack. It is up to you.

Keep in mind these classes are kinda like a Nia Jam, each class will be taught by three or four teachers per class. And they are new Graduates of Yoga Teacher Training.

Sign up now, so you can join the fun!

Mind Body Zone: 3335 Seldon Ct, Fremont, CA 94539
(a couple of blocks down from Fry’s right off of 680)

I hope to see you there!

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: Free yoga classes, gentle yoga, Hatha yoga, Intro to Yoga, Mind Body Zone Fremont, Nia Jam, Nia teachers, Restorative Yoga, Special offer, Vinyasa Yoga, Yin Yoga, yoga classes, Yoga Studio in Fremont, yoga teachers | 4 Comments »

Yoga’s First Two Limbs

Posted by terrepruitt on January 25, 2016

In my post earlier this month about there being More To Yoga Than Just Asana, I listed the eight limbs of yoga. Two of those limbs, the first two limbs have five principles or observances associated with them. The first limb is the yamas and they, as I mentioned in the other post, are sometimes thought of as restrictions. The second limb, the niyamas, are sometimes thought of as rules. But to me rules and restrictions are somewhat the same things. Many rules seem to be made to restrict people from doing things. So I am not sure that is a clear enough distinction for me. Yoga is so ancient and many of the text have been lost, so there are many translations to things. Another way of looking at the first two limbs: are the yamas are our attitudes toward our environment and the niyamas are our attitudes towards ourselves. That is from T.K.V. Desikachar’s translation of the Yoga Sutra in The Heart of Yoga.

The five yamas are:

Ahimsa – non-violence, non-harming
Satya – truthfulness
Asteya – non-stealing
Brahmacharya – celibacy, chastity
Aparigraha – non-possessiveness, non-coveting, non-hoarding, non-clinging

The five niyamas are:

Sauca – purity, cleanliness
Santosha – contentment
Tapas – discipline
Svadhyaya – study of self
Ishvara Pranidhana – surrender to the Divine

These rules, restrictions, attitudes, whatever you choose to think of them as, are meant to be applied to our thoughts, our words, and our actions. So, I am not really even sure there needs to be a distinction between whether it is a rule or a restriction. But I do like the idea that one is related to an attitude towards our environment and one is related to an attitude towards oneself. Although, I think all ten can be related to both. Sigh. I guess I will just stick to there really doesn’t need to be a distinction.

Each of these can be talked about in detail. I am definitely going to be writing more posts on these. Whether it is one post for all the yamas and one post for the niyamas, is yet to be seen, but I do want to share some of the ideas that were shared with me regarding them. I would like to shed some light on how they can be applied to life both on and off the yoga mat.

Do you want to share any ideas about them?

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: Ahimsa, Aparigraha, asanas, Asteya, Bralmachaya, Eight limbs of yoga, Ishvara Pranidhanam, More To Yoga Than Just Asana, niyamas, Satya, Sauca, Svadhyaya, Tapas, yamas | 2 Comments »

Beef, It’s What’s For Dinner

Posted by terrepruitt on January 20, 2016

I have mentioned that we have purchased a portion of a cow. It is grass-fed beef from a ranch in Petaluma, CA (for those of you that don’t know and are curious, that is north of where I am, past San Francisco). It is very good meat. My favorite is the ground beef, hamburger meat. The family that allows us to go in on the cow with them generously alloted us a large portion of it. But we don’t get JUST hamburger meat, we get other cuts, too. And again, the family generously worked with me and my loathing of bones and they gave us a lot of cuts without bones. But some cuts are going to have bones. But I really don’t work well with bones. I really don’t work well with a lot of these cuts because I just don’t know what they are and I don’t know what to do with them. The last two portions of meat I cooked were bad. Bad as in, I didn’t cook them properly so I couldn’t eat them. They were to tough or stringy or whatever, they were just not good. My husband gnawed his way through them, and he won’t say anything bad about beef for fear of not getting any. So he said they were ok, but, for me, they were not. Often I just don’t bother because I don’t know what to do with it (the cut of meat). But that means we have a few pieces left over from the last cow and now we have a new one, so I need to just cook it. The other day I took some steaks out and texted my friend with this picture and a “How can I cook these, Chef?” And she said, “Like you would ribeye steaks. Grill high 2-3 min per side :)” Made me laugh because I don’t know how to cook ribeye. I don’t “grill”, so I decided to use my grill pan.

I must say they came out really, really good. So good that hamburger might not be my favorite any longer. So good that I decided to cook them again . . . the next night. Ok, not really, I mean, really, but not. I decided to cook them again the next night because we have nothing but beef in our freezer. I thought we had something else, but we do not. So I was going to cook them two nights in a row, but they didn’t defrost in time. So . . . I am cooking them tonight. And they were so good I decided to post about them.

The first time I cooked them, I didn’t marinade them long, but what I used was:

Red wine
soy sauce
Worchestire sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Garlic teriyaki sauce

I just poured into the dish, but guessing I would say about a cup of red wine, three tablespoons of soy sauce, two tablespoons of Worchestire sauce, and just a little of both of the teriyaki (because I didn’t have that much).

I used the same “recipe” for tonight’s meat, but I was able to let it soak longer.

Then for MY steak, which I like cooked a little more than my husband, I turned the stove on right below medium and buttered it the pan. I put the steak in the pan . . . . you will see that all the fat and bone are cut off my piece. I cooked it for a few minutes, with butter on top and some rosemary rub. Then I flipped it and cooked it a few more minutes. Then I turned up the heat a little bit – to medium, then I flipped it again and cooked it a few more minutes. Then I turned up the heat so that the pan would get really hot. I put my husband’s pieces in. I didn’t leave mine on that long on the high heat, only as long as it took me to put hubby’s steak in and butter on it. I cooked them both for a few minutes each side.

They came out perfect. But remember, grass-fed meat does not look the same as commercial grain-fed beef, so it looks raw, but it is not.

I served it with potatoes and salad!

What did you have for dinner?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: cooking beef on a grill pan, grass-fed cow, grassfed beef, Petaluma farm, steak | 2 Comments »

Ideas For Focuses And Intents

Posted by terrepruitt on January 18, 2016

I have shared before that in a Nia class we have a focus. In my classes we always have a focus and an intent. Sometimes our focus and/or our intent might be loose or flexible or maybe even not clear, but we always have one. Setting the focus and intent is the first of seven cycles in a Nia class. I often ask my students what is going on with them and their bodies so that we can set the focus and intent together. I think that if they are the ones coming up with the focus for the class then they will be more apt to stay focused on it. A focus the take part in setting will be something more relevant to them and their bodies. We focus on backs, shoulders, and necks a lot. It seems as if a lot of us carry our stress in our shoulders. And I say the because often times that seems to be what it is, but there are also a lot of reasons there is “something going on” with our neck and shoulders. We do focus on other things, since there are so many things to focus on. Here are some things we have focused on.

Focus on the shoulders with the intent of bringing relaxation to them. Focusing on any body party with the intent of bringing relaxation to it/them, is a great one. So often we hold tension in our body and this can help relieve some of that. The focus could be the next with the intent of allowing it to relax.

Focusing on the shoulders with the intent of seeing how they are affected by the movement of our hands and arms. Sometimes this one is a good one to do followed the next day by the first one because we can see how sometimes MOVEMENT can bring tension to a body part!

Focus on the toes with the intent of seeing how their movement affects the knees. Focusing on a body part to allow awareness of how it is affected by other body parts is always interesting.

Focusing on the spine with the intent of creating length and space. So this could help our posture. We might dance taller as we reach up or reach away from our bodies with the crown of our heads to help bring a sensation of lengthening.

Sometimes we focus on a body part or area with just the intent of bringing awareness to it. Sometimes as we move through life, since the world seems bent on teaching us to ignore things our bodies are telling us (“here take this pill to mask your symptoms and go on with your life”), it is important to just pay attention to our knees or our elbows (as an example). It is important to check in with our hamstrings and/or our calves. So sometimes we just dance with specific body parts or areas in mind. This allows participants to think freely about something and receive sensation without a particular goal.

What do you think would be a good focus and intent for a Nia class? What do you think would be a good focus and intent for you?

Posted in Nia | Tagged: body awareness, body sensation, focus and intent, ideas for focusess, Nia class, relaxation, Seven cycles of a Nia class | Leave a Comment »

More To Yoga Than Just Asana

Posted by terrepruitt on January 13, 2016

I have often mentioned how Nia is a cardio dance exercise that you can take to another level and make it a practice, like yoga. Yoga is an exercise that you can take to another level by practicing some of the other limbs of yoga. Yoga has eight limbs. These limbs are things that one can work with throughout a lifetime. They are not necessarily things that one masters – well, not things that I can master. There could be days when it feels as if they have been mastered and then days when it feels like you had never even heard of them because the ideas or actions were just not present. So . . . these things get “practiced”. The physical, exercise part of yoga is just one of the limbs. While Nia is not as . . . I’ll say, “preachey” as yoga we do have some things that can be practiced outside of the dance class, off the dance floor. Things like noticing your movement and being aware of your relationship with others and things. But yoga’s limbs are more like rules to live by.

The eight limbs of yoga are:

1) The yamas. There are five yamas. They are often compared to restrictions. Some think of them as restraints or ethical principles.

2) The niyamas. There are five niyamas. They are often compared to rules. Some think of them as observances or spiritual practices.

3) The asana. There are thousands of poses. This is the physical limb of yoga. This is the exercise that has become very popular. Not only are there a lot of poses, there are many different types of yoga. Some are ancient and some are very new. Some types have created new poses. And sometimes I think that the ancient text has been translated so many different ways we end up with different poses.

4) Pranayama. There are various types of pranayama. This is the breath work of yoga. I have posted about two types of pranayama, Ujjayi Breathing and Equal Breath
Since this was originally posted I have posted about additional types of pranayama:
Dirgha 03.12.18, and Sitali 06.19.17

5) Pratyahara. This is the withdrawal of the senses. The idea is that when the mind has control over the senses, can withdrawal them, then it can focus on the other limbs of yoga without distraction.

6) Dharana. This is concentration. The idea of concentration of the mind on one thing leads to meditation.

7) Dhyana. This is meditation. The idea is to be able to concentrate on one point. Being able to breathe to a state of withdrawal of the senses. Having complete control. Then concentration is pure. Meditation is supremely focused and then . . .

8) Samadhi. This is transcendence. When one is in control over mind and body.

Each of these could definitely use a blog post of their own. Not sure I will get to them all. But, I will at least do a post on the yamas, a post on the niyamas, and a post on pranayama. Probably multiple posts on each of them. So, if you are interested stay tuned.

I had heard about the first two, and knew that poses and breathing were apart of yoga. But was not and am not so familiar with the last four. Did you know there were eight limbs to yoga? Which ones are you familiar with?

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: asana, cardio dance exercise, dance class, dance exercise, Eight limbs of yoga, equal breath, Nia, Nia Practice, niyamas, pranayama, Ujjayi Breath, yamas, Yoga, Yoga class, Yoga Practice | 10 Comments »

Last Year’s Christmas Gift

Posted by terrepruitt on January 8, 2016

Last year (2015) my Christmas present was an event. I asked for tickets to Cavalia. Do you know what that is? It is a horse show that travels around. Not a horse show that is just a display of horses like a dog show or a car show, but more like Cirque Du Soleil. It is a traveling entertainment type of deal. The first time we saw it, in 2004, we had to drive to Berkeley, which is kinda far. It was fantastic. There were huge horses that seem to run at their top speeds under a big top! It was amazing. Then in 2012, it came to our city. I saw the tent at least once a week, but we didn’t go to that one. This year it was in San Francisco, which is even further, but I still wanted to go. So, I asked for it as my Christmas gift.

When we went to purchase the tickets the shows were only through the end of December, so I picked a date and my hubby bought tickets. Then I was thinking about picking a date for Christmas with my girlfriends and I realized that I had my hubby buy tickets for the weekend that I had “all-weekend” training. Ugh. I was so upset with myself! I went online to pick other dates and they had just added new dates, they were staying into January. Nice. So much better than trying to get in before the Holidays! So when my hubs went to get the new tickets even better seats were open. So yay! It worked out so much better. Better seats and a better date, yay!

So we went to the show and it was fun. Before the show there was a quiz. We learned some stuff. There are currently 65 horses in the Cavalia stables. There are 12 stallions. There are no mares, all the horses are males.

There was a lot of “people entertainment”, as in entertainment by people. I don’t remember there being so much the first time we went, but it could just be my memory, because it really seems like the time they weren’t on stage they were changing costumes. But, even though, I would rather see more horse entertainment, the people entertainment was VERY good, amazing even.

The seats were not really cramped which was nice. The people we were seated with were very nice which always makes a show more enjoyable.

The venue was very strict about cell phone use. If the ushers saw someone using a cell phone they rushed over to make them turn it off. There was no cell phone use during the show.

We bought a few souvenirs. Two magnets and an ornament. It’s blue!

I very much enjoyed the show and appreciated my Christmas gift. I enjoyed spending time with my hubby. I do not feel, though, as if the show was as thrilling as the one we originally attended. I am not sure if it is just because they no longer have the big Percheron, Mimi. It just seems as if the thrill of power and speed was not significantly represented. There was a lot of great dancing and synchronization movement going on, but not power and speed. I was just a tiny bit disappointed. Not complaining, just sharing.

It was an amazing show. The horses are beautiful. The people are even more beautiful. It is really a show worth seeing. And again, it was a fabulous gift.

Even though the season is not about receiving it is fun to share when you receive something you love. Did you get anything you are excited about?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: 2015 Christmas, beautiful horses, Cavalia, Cavalia in Berkeley in 2004, Christmas presents, Cirque du Soleil, horse show, Mimi the Percheron, Odysseo, San Francisco Bay Area Entertainment, traveling entertainment | Leave a Comment »

You Are Responsible

Posted by terrepruitt on January 6, 2016

So I was reminded about something recently. It kind of has to do with happy people. I was reminded that there are two kinds of people – in general, in regards to happiness. There are those that know where happiness comes from and then there are those that don’t. There are those that understand happiness starts from within themselves. There are those that seek it outside of themselves. There are those that know they are responsible for their own happiness. There are those that look to OTHERS for their happiness or blame others when they are unhappy.

I am not here saying that people need to be happy all the time. No, I am just saying that some people realize that is up to them to be happy. To either create situations in which they are happy or to BE happy in the situations they are in. There are people who point the finger at others because they are unhappy.

I believe that people can ADD to your happiness and “make” you happy, but they are not responsible for MAKING you happy — that is your job. And when you are unhappy don’t be pointing the finger. More often than not when you are unhappy it is because of something YOU ARE DOING or NOT DOING.

This is just a general type of statement (the worst kind to make on the internet, I know), but I was just slapped in the face with this recently and then the very next day that video with Jada Pickett Smith came across my Facebook feed again. It had been floating on by because I had been scrolling past it, the titles that were accompanying it were something I wasn’t interested in. But then, after the slap, I clicked on it and I laughed. I was thinking, “HA! Isn’t that a perfect thing to be seeing right now.” I got confirmation that I am not the only one that thinks I am not responsible for OTHER people’s happiness. Why thank you, Mrs. Jada Pinkett Smith. She talks about how there needs to be balance in one’s life so that they can achieve happiness and not rely on others to make them happy. Have you seen that video? Click the picture below to go to a Youtube posting of it.**

Then there is this song that always has be thinking, “YEAH!” The line: “You’re a catalyst to your own, happiness you know“. It is up to you, Baby.

Pumpin Blood (Belarbi Remix)

NONONO

Hey ho on the road again
Moving on, forward
Sticks and stones, won’t break the bones
We’re in the car… on a highway

It’s so magical feeling, that no one’s got a hold
You’re a catalyst to your own, happiness you know

Cause it’s your heart, it’s alive
It’s pumping blood
It’s your heart, it’s alive
It’s pumping blood
And the whole wide world is whistling
And it’s whistling

Hey ho on the run again
Drive is strong, onward
Stick and stones won’t take his course
Sky got the part, in the front seat

It’s the best of world’s feeling, like nothing can go wrong
You’re the decider of the world you’ll get to know

Cause it’s your heart, it’s alive
It’s pumping blood
It’s your heart, it’s alive
It’s pumping blood
And the whole wide world is whistling

Hey ho on the road again
On the highway, on the highway
Hey ho on the road again
On the highway, on the highway

Cause it’s your heart, it’s alive
It’s pumping blood
And it’s your heart, it’s alive
It’s pumping blood
And the whole wide world is whistling

And it’s whistling,
And it’s whistling,
And it’s whistling

So, what do you think? Are you one that thinks you are responsible for other people’s happiness? Are you someone who knows you are responsible for your own happiness?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: blaming other people for your unhappiness, Jada Pinkett Smith, NoNoNo, Pumpin Blood, responsible for your own happiness | Leave a Comment »

New For 2016

Posted by terrepruitt on January 4, 2016

WHOA! 2016! Welcome, huh? I think I remember posting last year about how the year felt different. Didn’t feel so NEW. Perhaps that is just a symptom of age? Nothing new here, move along. No, no, not you, don’t move along! I am going to do something new on my blog. I would love to be doing something exciting, but these next two months are going to be super busy for me. So, I am going to make a shift that MIGHT help with that. You may have noticed that the last half of 2015, I didn’t post on Thursdays every month. Then a couple of months I skipped posting on Saturday. A few of the times I didn’t post throughout the year it was because I forgot, but the majority, I had decided not to post. Sometimes it doesn’t come as easy as other times so, I just gave in. Well, I am going to try a new schedule to see if that helps with being able to post on my self imposed schedule. I am going to try posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I would like to post Mondays and Thursdays, but Thursdays are the days that give me the most trouble. If I had a post prepared it would be fine, but I am not always that on top of things. I find myself trying to both get dinner ready before yoga class and write a blog post. Then I am off to teach class and when I come back I have to finish cooking dinner and write the post, leaving my hubby sitting all by himself for the evening. If you saw the size of his pouty lip you would agree that I need to do something different.

So, here starts a new page for my blog. I have been blogging since 2009, so for seven years my schedule has been Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Now onto: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I am sure it will take me a few to get used to it, but we will see. Depending on things it could end up being just two days . . . we will see!

I thought I would share some of the fun facts that WordPress shares with me (I am sure I am the only one that is so special) about the past year. Fun stuff!

—There were 4 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2 MB

—The busiest day of the year was November 29th

—Total archive of this blog is 1,176 posts

—My top five popular posts are from 2012, the first one is

Blood Pressure Monitors – It’s All In the Wrist, then is goes

Gout and Oats – There Could Be A Connection

No Need To Soak Your Oats

Do You Know What RoundUp Ready Means?

You Should Soak Your Oats

—The top referring sites in 2015 were: helpyouwell.com and facebook.com

—Views came from 135 countries. Sounds impressive until you think about how many countries there actually are. 🙂

Thank you for even being here so that I have any type of “statistics”! That really needs to be said and acknowledged!

Now, here is to a new year. Happy 2016. Let’s rock this thing, both the year and my blog. Help me rock it by reading and commenting. Yeah, it is much more fun when you talk to us (me and any other persons reading).

Fun stuff! Thanks, again!

Posted in Misc | Tagged: change to blog, Facebook, helpyouwell.com, oats and gout, soaking oats, Wordpress blog, wrist blood pressure monitors, Yoga class | 3 Comments »

Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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